Tom Thumb

The adventures of Tom Thumb: The tiny puppy set to be the world's smallest dog.

He is a third of the size of an average guinea pig, and weighs in at just a few ounces - but this tiny puppy could be a big deal when it comes to world records.
The miniscule chihuahua-Jack Russell cross - appropriately named Tom Thumb by its owners - is a serious contender for the title of being the smallest dog on the planet.

His siblings are three times the size of the tiny dog, who can fit inside a teacup and cannot reach his mum to feed when she is standing up.
And he is unlikely to get much bigger - with some previous experience of rearing puppies through their early weeks, the couple are convinced that Tom is almost fully grown now.

So who said the face had to be human? ! I spent hours scouring the news for a more lighthearted item, and got thoroughly miserable. Consequently left myself little time for the actual drawing.

I have noticed that a link to the news item is only active for a couple of days......obviously, really, considering the nature of the thing....so I shan't be doing that again.

Earthquake

'Entire towns were destroyed': Death toll rises to 92 with up to 50,000 homeless after powerful earthquake rocks Italy.

A frantic father clutches at his head in desperation as he awaits news about his son trapped in a collapsed building in Aquila this morning.

How do you come to terms with such devastation? When something like this happens I vow never to complain again. I have no sympathy for those bad things that happen that we bring upon ourselves....but this.......we have no power over nature.

The sketch was just that, very sketchy, quickly done. I am still packing.....will it ever end? And where did all the rubbish come from?

Geoff Hoon

Three homes Hoon: Iraq war Minister claimed expenses on one home, rented out second ... and lived in third for free.

They are all coming out of the woodwork, now, aren't they. But it is one aspect of human nature to take what you can. Another is to give back...for some people!

Madonna

No Mercy for Madonna.

Madonna faces her disappointment at the failed adoption in Malawi.

My own personal feeling is that it does no good to displace a child, take away their own culture, it can store up trouble for the future. By all means live in Malawi and look after the children!

Boris Johnson

Sit down Boris! (Or how the mayor tried - and failed - to stage a walkout over snow fiasco).

I like Boris. And with Gordon Brown and the G20 summit still in the headlines, I felt free to pick my subject today!

John Terry

John Terry seals tough win for England.

I don't know if I could get into trouble for copying a newspaper article word for word, so just in case, from now, the headline will also be a link to the story. If you want to read all about it!

Not a good likeness, today, but I had no idea until this morning that John existed, never mind what he looks like! Congratulations to him, though, good job! And to England. No football fan, me.

Billy Joel

Billy Joel edges out Elton John

On the surface, it always has seemed like a natural pairing: two of the rock era's most successful acts -- piano-based or otherwise -- dispensing hit after hit after hit.

But look a little deeper and the contrasts between Elton John and Billy Joel far outweigh the similarities. And their latest Face 2 Face arena show Saturday at Anaheim's Honda Centre again hammered home those differences, even as the packed house cheered the pop feast.
The most obvious is the performing styles. Both men still have a command of their instrument, but their manic stage days are behind them. And that's fine; John turned 62 last Wednesday, and Joel hits 60 in May.
But latter-day John is all about the music, mostly sitting stoically at his piano; Joel's still about the show, his eighty-eight on a rotator so that every in-the-round patron got a good look. John prefers a quiet dignity onstage, only occasionally addressing the audience; Joel is demonstrative, offering some rimshot-worthy shtick.
Basically, John plays to the crowd; Joel feeds off it. So while Sir Elton will never cede the catalogue crown, in his stage battle with the kid from Long Island, the latter continues to win the Face 2 Faceoffs.
BUT ' It's them they were coming to see to forget about life for a while.'

From Reuters

Billy Joel is my all time absolute favourite singer/songwriter. I never tire of listening to his songs.

So this item jumped out at me this morning. I see Billy is touring again with Elton John and I hope he comes to England again. Although Elton was brilliant on his own last time, it was such a disappointment that poor Billy had a sore throat and had to cancel. The MAGIC was missing.